


The Birth of the Blackened

by Valkyri (kisikil)



Category: Dangan Ronpa, Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa 3: The End of 希望ヶ峰学園 | The End of Kibougamine Gakuen | End of Hope's Peak High School, Dangan Ronpa Zero
Genre: Danganronpa Student Council, Gen, Spiders, i literally wrote this in 3 hours
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-17
Updated: 2017-02-17
Packaged: 2018-09-25 04:56:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9803450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kisikil/pseuds/Valkyri
Summary: Sousuke Ichino was having a normal day...that came crashing down when he was faced with his biggest adversary yet: a common house spider.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I had a traumatic experience fighting a house spider so naturally I had to write a fic about it using my favorite student council boy
> 
> personalities based on my student council mutual killing fic, obviously

It was a pleasant Friday spring evening at Hope's Peak Academy. The setting sun's rays reflected through the windows in the classrooms, leaving each with a warm, mellow feeling of rebirth and bliss. The school's student council - who was acclaimed for being more social than busy - had just ended their meeting for the day, and everyone had already packed their things and left to enjoy their evenings in their own individual ways in preparation for the free weekend.

Except for Sousuke Ichino, who was left with cleaning duty. Not that he minded too much: the student council weren't incredibly messy besides Aiko leaving candy wrappers strewn on the floor and Shouji flicking minuscule paper airplanes everywhere, suspiciously most landing near where Asukasei would usually seat himself. So, it was just a matter of picking up some stray trash and straightening out Ryouta's massive blanket fort that was settled in the back corner of the room, near the filing cabinets.

In fact, Sousuke was nearly done with tidying up the student council room. All he had to do was sweep some dust away...if he weren't Sousuke, that was. Yes, Sousuke Ichino went all out in cleaning duty, not because he particularly enjoyed cleaning, but because he had the habit to go all out with everything he did. It was a habit he picked up as the Ultimate Cosmetologist - perfectionism. So, with plastic gloves on - he didn't want to get dirt in his nails nor even touch dust with his bare hands - he mopped the floors, scrubbed the desks, and wiped the windows. He even put Ryouta's stuffed animals in his fort into a perfect line, as though they were all anxiously awaiting for their owner to come home.

When he was finally done, the entire student council room was spotless, the desks and floors gleaming against the orange light. He stretched his arms and cracked his knuckles - that took an hour longer than it should've (it usually took everyone else five minutes to clean up), but now the room was gorgeous! Absolutely beautiful! Nothing could damper on Sousuke's pride with how absolutely marvelous this room looked! Everyone was going to be speechless, and he couldn't wait to rub it in his sister's face!

...That was, until _he_ appeared.

A black menace on Soshun's desk, bathing in the light from outside and casting a shadow wider than itself. It's overwhelming force struck Sousuke to his core when he saw him... He did not see Sousuke at first, but he was imposing. A monstrous aura seeped from his soul, overtaking every fiber of Sousuke's being, rattling him. Sousuke did not move; Sousuke did not breathe; but, eventually, he saw him. He saw him and turned to him, and Sousuke felt all of his blood drain out of his body.

Before him, this menace, this entity that threatened Sousuke's very existence...

...was a common house spider.

"Y-You..." Sousuke sputtered out, but the spider did not flinch. In fact, the spider seemed unaware that Sousuke even spoke to him - he simply stood there, eyeing the red-haired boy, awaiting his next move. His next move did not come for a long while, for Sousuke and the spider were locked in a staring contest for the ages, their minds lost in time as they attempted to anticipate their sworn enemy's first move.

A million thoughts flew through Sousuke's head as his eyes never faltered from watching the spider. _What do I do? Do I capture him and let him go? Do I kill him? What if he jumps? Is he poisonous?_

_....Will today be the last day I breathe?_

Sousuke started to think of all the things he hadn't done yet... Graduate from Hope's Peak, get a car, attend college, get married... He thought about his friends, all those he cared for the most. Who will take care of Ryouta and Kotomi? Kotomi was more of the caretaker of the three, but he digressed. Who would be the third musketeer amongst Shouji and Tarou? Though, Tarou did hate being called that... How was he going to tell Kiriko how he felt about her? Well, he actually already did, several times, but again! But, most importantly...

...Who was going to tell Soshun, his best buddy, what happened here today if he were to fall? No, he couldn't fall... He couldn't fail... He had to live!

Even... Even if it meant taking another's life.

Suddenly, the spider started to move... He crept away from his spot on Soshun's desk and meander towards the edge. Sousuke saw this as an opportunity to slip away, to prepare himself for the battle to come. But, when he took a step, the spider halted in his tracks, turning to him, gazing at him with his two...three....how many number of eyes a spider has. Sousuke didn't want to think about how many eyes that spider had. He didn't want to think about his disadvantage.

Another minute passed... Two.... Three.... Sousuke's legs were getting sore from standing in the same position. But, the spider eventually started to move again, creeping away and towards the edge of the desk again. Sousuke swallowed his fear that had crept in his throat and found courage. He found the courage...

....to run to the other side of the room.

The spider had turned back to him again, and he did squeak, but he persevered and pushed on. He found solace within Ryouta's blanket fort, his new hiding place, his sanctuary. He peered from behind the blanket curtain and watched the spider as it stayed frozen in place, dazed and confused at Sousuke's sudden disappearance. He had the upper hand! He could do this! So, naturally, his first order of business when it came to defeating this mighty beast....

...was calling his sister.

"KOTOOOMIIIII!" he screamed into his phone.

"Ow, Sousuke!" she groaned, her aggravation emanating from the speaker. "What's wrong now?!"

"YOU HAVE TO COME BACK TO THE STUDENT COUNCIL ROOM!"

"Fuck no. Why?"

"SPIDER SPIDER SPIDER SPIDERSPIDERSPIDER!"

Kotomi let out the world's most annoyed sigh. "I'm not coming back just to kill a spider. I'm with Karen and no way in hell am I passing up this alone time just to kill your pet spider!"

"HE'S NOT MY PET! HE WANTS TO KILL ME!"

Then, she said the words that Sousuke dreaded. That he never wanted to hear in his life.

"Well, you're just going to have to kill it first."

Sousuke gulped. He had considered it, yes, but to put it into practice?

"K-Kotomi.... That's murder!"

"It's a fucking spider, Sousuke."

"It still has feelings, Kotomi."

Kotomi sighed again. "Look, you either kill the spider or you let that spider go free and it bites someone else." She explained. "You don't want anyone else getting hurt from that stupid thing because you were too scared to kill it, right?"

Sousuke thought about Soshun walking in on Monday morning, the spider waiting for him on his desk, thirsting for a taste of his blood... Sousuke balled up his hand.

"...You're right. I have to do this." he said through clenched teeth.

"Yeah. Good luck with that."

Before Sousuke could say any more, Kotomi hung up on him. Rude! He needed her for emotional support! But...he understood. This was something he had to do alone. He had to do this alone for the sake of himself... For the sake of the council... For the sake of world peace.

Sousuke considered what he could use to attack this spider head-on. He considered a sneak attack - waiting until the spider forgot Sousuke's existence, then the cosmetologist would go in for the kill. That would mean he needed something hard enough that would kill it in one fell swipe. He considered his shoe, but these shoes were new and he didn't want to get them dirtier than a normal day of normalcy already did to them (besides, Ryouta already spilled sugar-free Little Red on them, which made Sousuke holler and spend the entire student council meeting cleaning them). He wondered where a fly swatter would be if there was even one... And there was! Upon sticking his head out of the blanket fort and surveying his surroundings, he managed to find one...

...Hanging on the wall at the other side of the room, where he just was moments ago.

His eyes flickered to Soshun's desk...

...which was missing a spider. Sousuke screamed a blood-curdling scream.

"WHERE'D IT GO WHERE'D IT GO WHERE'D IT GOOOOOOOO!!"

_No, Sousuke!_ he thought to himself. _This is a part of his plan! He wants you to get distracted! Keep yourself together, man!_

Sousuke took a deep breath, calming himself down. His hands still shivered and shook from pure terror, but he couldn't hesitate now. He leaped out from Ryouta's blanket fort and rolled across the floor to the other end of the room, his inner secret spy from his favorite action anime coming out and taking over his entire being. He reached the fly swatter and swiped it from where it hung, huddling himself up against the wall with his back firmly against, the fly swatter firmly gripped within his hands. He was now prepared for battle. Now, he had to locate his target.

His target was very bad at hiding, since it simply just crawled down the side of Soshun's desk. The moment of truth was upon them: from this day forward, after this immensely important event, Sousuke will never be the same. He will be known as their savior, the fighter... The murderer. But, was it truly murder if he was protecting himself and those he loves? The spider threatened everything he held dear, including his clear and flawless skin. He couldn't let this tyrant take that all way... He wasn't going to let him!

Sousuke moved to sit up, but his phone starting ringing, his ringtone blaring through the room. He dug in his pocket and pulled it out.

It was Soshun. It was destiny. He answered.

"Soshun. I can't talk right now."

"Huh? Is everything okay, Sousuke?" Soshun asked on the other end. Even in these tragic, harsh times, he was still as selfless as always.

"There's an intruder in here."

"Sousuke, I already told you that Isshiki is also a member-"

"No," Sousuke interrupted. "There's a spider."

"Oh! Why didn't you just say so?" Soshun responded. "Do you want me to go over there and kill it for you?"

"No... This is something I must do myself. It's what I was fated to do."

"Well, alright! Good luck with that."

"But... Soshun. Before you go..." Sousuke closed his eyes. "If... If I don't make it out of here alive... I just want to tell you... That I've always loved you."

Soshun started choking. He was probably drinking something and it went down the wrong tube, Sousuke figured. "I-I, well, I... Um..." Soshun started stuttering. Was it cold where he was? "I-I... I love you too, uh, Sousuke, b-buddy..." His voice sounded strained, quiet, and he started coughing again. Was he sick? Sousuke was going to go to the nurse's office for some medicine after this, he decided!

After saying what could be his final farewell to his best buddy, Sousuke took another deep breath. He noticed now that he was shaking, quivering in his shoes. These next few moments were the deciding factors of his future, and it was finally affecting him. Could he really take down this beast before it took him? Could he really take the life of another?

Sousuke leaped from his spot and let out a war cry.

"AHHHHHHHH!!!"

It didn't matter if he could or not.... His life depended on it. In a flash, he swiped the fly swatter against the side of the desk, directly on the spider. The spider fell to the ground, upside-down, his legs curled into his abdomen, unmoving. "D-Did I...?" Sousuke muttered out. He took a step towards the spider...

...And it twitched. Sousuke screamed as the spider leaped up from the floor and back onto its feet. It charged towards Sousuke, it's front legs raised in a fiery, blind rage. Sousuke failed - the spider lived, and now it was his turn to strike. Sousuke was going to fall today.

...No. Sousuke still had something else. He still had a Plan B. He could still do this! Sousuke lifted up his leg...

....And stepped on the spider. He heard a crunch.

"Ahhh.... Ahhh!" he cried out, tears welling in his eyes. He stepped on it again and again. Crunch, crunch. Couldn't be too sure, you know? It was terrible. It was horrifying. Sousuke was disgusted with himself, disgusted that he committed such a heinous sin. But, it was too late. There was no going back now and, after the fourth smash, he finally lifted his foot away from the spider.

It was a mangled mess on the floor, secreting some whitish bug guts onto the floor. It didn't move. Sousuke waited. Sousuke waited for a full minute, but it didn't move. He did it. He did it.

Sousuke won.

Sousuke dropped the fly swatter. His hands were trembling, his heart racing. He fell to the ground, his head foggy. He couldn't think. He didn't even realize that some tears spilled over and rolled down his cheeks. He just stared at the mangled mess of what was once a living organism with its own dreams and aspirations. _What have I done...?_ he thought to himself.

But, he knew it had to be done. He knew this was the only way. This was the only way he was going to walk out of this student council room the way he walked in. But...was he really going to walk out the same Sousuke as he was? After this, after what he's done? Was it possible for him to be the same Sousuke Ichino he was before this terrible tragedy?

His phone rang again. With shaky hands, he pulled his phone out of his pocket once again. Soshun. He snapped back into reality and answered it.

"Did you kill the spider yet?" He asked.

"Yes... I did. He's dead. He's...dead."

"Oh, good job! I knew you could do it!"

Sousuke didn't respond at first. He stared at the spider, his enemy, how he now laid crushed and helpless on the floor. But...were they really enemies from the start? Was this battle necessary? Could.... Could they have lived in peace?

"Are you coming, then?" Soshun cut into his train of thought. "I've been waiting outside your dorm for a while now. The food's getting cold."

Sousuke blinked away a few tears. Then, he smiled.

"Can...you come here, actually? There's, like, bug guts."

Soshun laughed. "Sure, I'll be there shortly!"

A battle of life and death... War... It spared no one. Even when you live through it, your soul was forever changed. Never once did someone leave these terrible, bloody battlefields unscathed. But... Sousuke knew that he now had an irreplaceable connection with this spider. This day would be forever engraved within his memory, and he would never forget this day. He would never forget the lesson he learned through this horrifying experience:

Call Tsubasa instead and have her tell you to catch the spider and let it loose outside.


End file.
